Has the state or government taken any actions to improve the financial situation of the East St. Louis schools since the book was published, spreading awareness of the crisis?
In October of 1994, the state of Illinois took control of the school districts in East St. Louis and moved to remove the entire local school board. They hired a financial oversight panel in order to assist the school board in making budget decisions so that their financial situation could be turned around.
This fact extends the information that Kozol described in "Savage Inequalties." Kozol focused on the city of East St. Louis between the years 1988 and 1990. At that point in time, the public schools in the city were in such a severe financial crisis that their supplies, classrooms, and technology had been outdated for decades. Finally, four years later, the state stepped in to improve the conditions of the educational institutions and set out to get the city back on track so that the children living there could have a chance at receiving a more equal education.
When adults decide to move to suburban areas to begin to raise their families many times they look what school systems they are moving into. Test scores are typically a crucial part of finding out about school systems. What kind of information can be found in order show the details of the test scores in East St. Louis?
The link above shows the details about the East St. Louis school district, and their test scores in PSAE tests for grade 11, in 2007. When looking at this graph it is clear that the East St. Louis school district has significantly lower scores. We can relate this to the Kozol novel, "Savage Inequalities." While reading the first forty pages of this novel we find out how poor this suburb really is. The students test scores are way below the average for Illinois, and we can find this not only in the graph but through the readings of the Kozol novel. In terms of the teachers, the curriculum, and the supplies needed, the East St. Louis school district is missing all of the above, proving the test scores to be as low as they are.
Has the state or government taken any actions to improve the financial situation of the East St. Louis schools since the book was published, spreading awareness of the crisis?
In October of 1994, the state of Illinois took control of the school districts in East St. Louis and moved to remove the entire local school board. They hired a financial oversight panel in order to assist the school board in making budget decisions so that their financial situation could be turned around.
This fact extends the information that Kozol described in "Savage Inequalties." Kozol focused on the city of East St. Louis between the years 1988 and 1990. At that point in time, the public schools in the city were in such a severe financial crisis that their supplies, classrooms, and technology had been outdated for decades. Finally, four years later, the state stepped in to improve the conditions of the educational institutions and set out to get the city back on track so that the children living there could have a chance at receiving a more equal education.
Arly Bratman
When adults decide to move to suburban areas to begin to raise their families many times they look what school systems they are moving into. Test scores are typically a crucial part of finding out about school systems. What kind of information can be found in order show the details of the test scores in East St. Louis?
Link To East St. Louis Data
The link above shows the details about the East St. Louis school district, and their test scores in PSAE tests for grade 11, in 2007. When looking at this graph it is clear that the East St. Louis school district has significantly lower scores. We can relate this to the Kozol novel, "Savage Inequalities." While reading the first forty pages of this novel we find out how poor this suburb really is. The students test scores are way below the average for Illinois, and we can find this not only in the graph but through the readings of the Kozol novel. In terms of the teachers, the curriculum, and the supplies needed, the East St. Louis school district is missing all of the above, proving the test scores to be as low as they are.